OLD masters of the art world Sir Roy Strong and Brian Sewell proved they were not afraid to speak their minds when they entertained a capacity crowd at the Guildhall.

Both men have been immersed in the world of art and culture throughout their long and varied careers – and they have been friends for many years.

Strong was the youngest director of the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. He revealed he was a shy young man who was a product of a grammar school and university education that freed him to become a powerful, flamboyant voice in the cultural life of Britain.

Sewell was a graduate of the Courtauld Institute and worked for a decade at Christies as an expert on old masters before establishing himself as an outspoken art critic.

He revealed he only agreed to write his autobiography when he reached his 80s because he no longer worried what people might make of his colourful life.

While Brian Sewell is well known for his trenchant views on everything from the contemporary art market to Lowry and his “absurd little matchstick men” (he dismissed the latest exhibition at Tate Britain and said Lowry was “autistic in his need to repeat what he already painted”), Sir Roy Strong showed he had equally strong views.

He bemoaned the destructive role money has played in the world of art and said many of the heritage exhibitions he put on in the 1970s just would not be staged now because they would not have the box office appeal of today’s shows.